


(Easy) Like Sunday Morning

by Mellifera



Category: Captain America (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), Thor (Movies)
Genre: Darcy Lewis-centric, F/M, Insecurity, Introspection, Jarvis (Iron Man movies) is a Good Bro, Unreliable Narrator
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-11-19
Updated: 2015-11-19
Packaged: 2018-05-02 08:20:05
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,321
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5241338
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mellifera/pseuds/Mellifera
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It wasn't anything as cliché as a forgotten birthday or anniversary. It was just Sunday. Thing was, Sunday was their day.</p>
            </blockquote>





	(Easy) Like Sunday Morning

**Author's Note:**

> So uh. Hey everyone. *waves*  
> This is the first thing I've written in a loooooooong time and the second fic I've actually finished. Not beta'd so I apologize in advance if it's crap.

It wasn't anything as cliché as a forgotten birthday or anniversary. It was just Sunday. Thing was, Sunday was their day. Unless there was something like Avenging or Emergency (World Ending Emergencies, not just I Refuse To Sleep Because I'm On the Edge Of A Breakthrough Emergency, _Jane_ ) Science! going on, Darcy and Steve spent most of every Sunday together. But not this Sunday. And not several other Sundays over the past three months.  Instead of watching Steve eat enough waffles to feed a classroom of small children, Darcy was laying in bed by herself and brooding.

 

Darcy and Steve’s relationship had been wonderful at first. Steve was easy to like, what with his earnestness, and his adorkable face, and his secret troll tendencies. Then Darcy realized that Steve was easy to love, and surprisingly, Steve thought that she was easy to love back. That was exciting and new. Darcy had never been with anyone like Steve before.  It was so easy to get swept away on the tide of Wonderfulness that was Life With Steve. Until D.C, anyway. Until Hydra turned out to be only mostly dead. Until it turned out that Steve’s bff had been secretly tortured, turned into a killing machine, and set to kill Steve. The first thing Steve did when he got out of the hospital was start Operation: Up All Night To Save Bucky. Doing the whole long-distance-while-your-man-chases-his-amnesiac-bestie really, really sucked. Steve was worth it though, and Sweet Baby Thor, did Bucky need someone in his corner. Darcy sucked it up, put on her Supportive Girlfriend Hat, and hoped for the day that Steve managed to talk Bucky off the ledge and back to Stark Tower (because if anyone could do it, it was Steve I’m So Earnest, Let Me Help You Rogers). Thank Odin, it only took about three months for Bucky to work his shit out by blowing up every Hydra base he could remember before he came in out of the cold. Unfortunately, that was when the trouble began.

First, Bucky needed to be isolated until he was stable. Which was fine. Of course, Steve needed to be there for Bucky, which was also fine. When Bucky was deemed stable enough to meet everyone and have his own quarters, things became Not Fine. It became clear to Darcy pretty damn quick that Bucky couldn’t stand her. Bucky did his damndest to avoid her, and being a former assassin, he was pretty damned good at it. At first, Darcy thought he was just shy of people. Then she noticed that, long after he started warming up to the team, he still didn’t speak to her unless it was absolutely necessary. When he did speak to her, it was only in one or two word sentences. Any time he looked at her, it was with a flat blank stare. Darcy got the message loud and clear. She didn’t know what she did or didn’t do, but she started making herself scarce. She didn’t mention it to Steve, either. Steve carried around so much guilt about what happened to Bucky, Darcy didn’t want to come between them or make him think he had to choose between his best friend and his girlfriend. Again, Darcy decided to suck it up, put her Supportive Girlfriend Hat back on, and just wait for things to even out. Except that they never did.

Bucky never “got better” where Darcy was concerned. Steve started spending more and more time with Bucky; morning runs, weeknight dinners, or bonding sessions, or whatever. Darcy stopped asking. Bucky still had pretty bad nightmares and the occasional day where he regressed and sank into himself. Steve did whatever Steve did to support Bucky, and Darcy told him she didn’t mind, of course. What was she supposed to do? Make a scene because Steve was being a good friend? Despite all this, Sundays were sacred. Even when Bucky had a Bad Day on a Sunday, Steve still managed to fit some Darcy & Steve time in. Until Bucky had such a bad Sunday that Steve felt he couldn’t leave him. Afterwards, Darcy had smiled and said it wasn’t a big deal. How could she complain the next time it happened, or the time after that? The thing was, Darcy hadn’t spoken to Steve outside of texts in almost a week. Darcy started to count herself lucky if she woke up in time to see him first thing in the morning or if she managed to stay awake until he came to bed for the night. Maybe Steve was talking to Sam and Clint or even Thor about Bucky, but he surely wasn’t confiding in Darcy. He’d stopped letting her in or saying what was on his mind unless she poked at him. That was not a fun feeling. Darcy sat alone in their apartment and wondered just when Steve had stopped reaching out to her. She could endure a lot if she knew that she was needed and cared for, but the thing was, Darcy didn’t know how Steve felt about her anymore. He said he loved her. He said he missed her. But he was never there anymore, literally _and_ figuratively. And she was sticking her head in the sand and hoping for something that was never going to happen.

 

“Jarvis?”

“Yes, Miss Darcy?”

“Where are Steve and Bucky?”

There was a beat of silence, then Jarvis answered, “Captain Rogers and Sergeant Barnes are currently in the Sergeant's quarters.”

“Is there…” Darcy hesitated, then shook her head. If waiting were going to make anything better, things wouldn’t be this bad now. “Are there any other empty apartments? Do you think anyone would mind if use one?”

This beat of silence was entirely different.  “If I may, the quarters originally assigned for your use are still available.” Jarvis, bless his circuits, was nice enough not to ask _why_? and other uncomfortable questions. If she’d had to talk to Tony, Darcy was sure he’d say something annoying or suitably awful. Or worse, he’d be nice about it.  Darcy didn’t think she was ready for that yet.  She _knew_ she wasn't ready to deal with Pepper's brand of caring.  Darcy knew they meant well, but she didn't think that she deserved their compassion right now.  "Sir took the liberty of storing your excess furniture in there when he understood that you and the Captain were together."

Oh.  Well that made things a bit easier.  Darcy thought about, and immediately dismissed the idea of asking Jarvis not to tell Tony.  She'd just max her privacy settings and maybe heads up text Pepper when she got herself settled.  

“Can you send up... do we even have one of those clothing rack things?  With a couple boxes, please? And would you let me know if Steve or basically anyone decides to head my way?”

“May I ask, Miss Darcy, if you are certain that this course of action is necessary?”  There was no judgement, only concern in JARVIS' tone.  It was why he was Darcy's favorite person in the tower.

Maybe she was being a coward. Maybe she was taking the easy way out. But she didn’t see how it mattered anymore. She wasn’t going to make Steve chose between Bucky and her. She’d lose hands down. Instead, she was getting out now before she started to hate herself, or worse, Steve. It was better this way.

 “I’m not,” Darcy sighed, “but I can’t do this anymore, J.”

“Then for what it’s worth, you have my sympathies, Miss Darcy.”

“Thanks J. It means a lot.” 

"I've also taken the liberty of placing an order for a box of assorted mini cheesecakes from the bakery downstairs.  They should arrive at your apartment by the time you are finished here."

"...J, Tony needs to build you a body already, because I need to give you All of the Hugs."

"You're very welcome, Miss."

 

 

**Author's Note:**

> Title is from Easy by the Commodores. Listening to it the other day, the Plot Bunny bit me and just wouldn't let go. So I put it on repeat and banged this out real quick. Hope you enjoyed. If not, I'll just see myself out.


End file.
